Central England Co-operative invests £250,000 in revamping Food Store in North Norfolk

Posted by james brindle | Published: 28/06/2019


Central England Co-operative has opened the doors to its refurbished Food Store in Wells-next-the-Sea following a major investment.

The Polka Road store has been given a £250,000 makeover which includes a new purpose-built infant feeding/baby changing area put in place due to customer demand with features including softened, dimmable lighting and even Bluetooth connectivity to play music to youngsters. Additionally, a feeding zone with comfy chair, microwave and chilled water dispenser also forms part of the facility.

The revamped store also includes an updated product range to better reflect customer requirements such as the award-winning COOK frozen food range, as well as fresh decoration, an improved kiosk inside the store, a new customer toilet and an external seating area.

Central England Co-op Chief Executive Debbie Robinson said: “We are very proud to launch our revamped store in Wells-next-the-Sea and for it to include a range of facilities to meet the needs of the local community.

“We have listened to feedback from our members and customers who often highlight customer toilets and baby changing facilities as something they would like to see us offer and the revamp of our Polka Road store gave us a great opportunity to act on that feedback and deliver high quality facilities.”

To mark the reopening and to highlight the Society’s commitment to the communities it serves during Co-op Fortnight, which got under way on Monday (24), around 20 Central England Co-op food, travel and funeral colleagues, as well as colleagues from the retailer’s property team, completed a ‘clean up’ around the saltmarshes of nearby Burnham Overy Staithe.

Store Manager Mark Dixon said: “All of us here at the Polka Road Food Store are proud to be part of such a great community in Wells-next-the-Sea and so were delighted to join together with colleagues for the ‘clean up’ to mark Co-op Fortnight and the reopening of the store.

“Our team has been so excited. The revamp looks fantastic and already customers have been making many positive comments about how it looks.

“I would like to thank our members and customers for their patience during the refurbishment. I hope they enjoy the changes as much as we do and look forward to welcoming customers, new and old, to come and enjoy our Food Store.”

The Polka Road Food Store is open every day from 7am to 10pm Monday to Saturday and 10am to 4pm on Sunday. 

The store has a wide range of products from everyday necessities to something a little more special. The offer includes fresh and local fruit and vegetables, an instore bakery, chilled beers and wines, fresh and frozen product and Irresistible product ranges.

The store also offers a Costa Coffee machine, cash machine, Collect Plus, Paypoint, defibrillator, food bank, free car park and Lottery.

 

Notes to editors

About Central England Co-operative

Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK. 

It is a modern, forward-looking organisation employing over 8,000 staff, with the Society’s principal areas of activity being food, funeral services, travel shops, and property investment.

Central England Co-operative has over 400 trading outlets across 16 counties including; West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.  The Society has an ambitious food store development programme for 2019.

Central England Co-operative is proud of its reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.  It is a member of Business in the Community, the membership organisation that stands for responsible business, and has also won many business awards for excellence.  The Society supports a number of charities including Dementia UK and invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities.

Becoming a member of Central England Co-operative offers a whole host of benefits ranging from collecting points every time you spend in store to earn a share of the profits, access to members activities and community initiatives including the Community Dividend Fund, which hands out grants of up to £5,000 to charities and good causes across the Society’s trading estate.

Find out how to become a Central England Co-operative member by calling 0800 0501 601, emailing members@centralengland.coop or visiting https://www.members.coop

For more information visit www.centralengland.coop, follow Central England Co-operative on Twitter: @mycoopfood, and on Facebook: facebook.com/centralenglandcooperative

Rob Smyth and James Brindle at Central England Co-operative on 01543 421390

Email – publicrelations@centralengland.coop